Disclaimer: I own! -gets hit by China's wok- Auwww… Fine. I don't own. ARE YOU HAPPY NOW, MY MUSES?!?!
My Muses: Yes, we are. We would be in a lot of trouble if she owned us.
Me: YOU JERKS! Anyways. –turns to the readers- Hope you enjoy this chapter~ LEAVE MEH A REVIEW?
Pairings: It's only chapter seven… DID I EVER REACH CHAPTER SEVEN BEFORE??? Did I? –doesn't remember-
"How dare you all leave me behind," Ash muttered from behind the group. "You'll pay for this. All of ya. I'll get you all in your sleep." Ash let out a low, evil chuckle, making everyone but Hikari scoot away from her slightly.
"Should we be worried about this, Hikari-san?" Jae whispered to the light-blue haired girl.
"Calm down, Ashie," Hikari said, whistling.
"I will not calm down!" Ash retorted angrily. "You probably told them to keep going, didn't you?!"
"Duh," Hikari said. Ash twitched and gave a little grin.
"Kari, look at your left arm," Ash said. Hikari looked down at her arm and shrieked, flailing her arms wildly.
"GET IT OFFA ME!" Hikari shouted. The three males of the crew looked at her blurry arms, hoping and trying to see the object that got the cook in such a panic. But they didn't succeed, of course. [1] They, of course, gathered attention. There was a circle of people surrounding them, watching the light-blue haired female do some sort of crazy arm-flailing dance. As soon as Hikari calmed down twenty minutes later (if you can call a wild-eyed panting light-blue haired girl calm), people applauded and dropped beris into Jae's hands. Then soon the crowd went on with their business.
"Umm…" Jae said. "What do I do with this?" Everyone save Hikari looked at him.
"Where did you get all that?" Recca asked, staring at the pile of beris in Jae's hands.
"Did you pickpocket?" Tazer asked. Jae gave him a deadpan stare.
"No," Jae said. "People suddenly started to hand it to me when Hikari-san stopped flailing around."
"Oh. They must have thought Kari was doing a performance," Ash said. "And that you were the person they give the money to."
"Now we have money," Recca said, grinning. "Let's buy a boat!"
"Ash…" Hikari's voice muttered, gaining everyone's attention. "Please." Ash's eyes widened when her friend collapsed onto the ground, shaking.
"It's gone, Kari!" Ash exclaimed, hugging her stricken friend. "It's gone. I'm sorry. I went too far." [2]
"You think?" Hikari managed to say before fainting. Jae's eyes narrowed slightly.
"… What did you do?" Jae asked, manipulating the iron bracelets to wrap around the items in his hands. There soon was a pure grey ball in his hands. Jae frowned slightly when he didn't receive an answer. He asked again. "What did you do?" Ash tensed upon hearing the deadly tone in his voice.
"Her fear," Ash stated.
"That's a bit harsh, don't you think?" Jae asked, rolling the ball with his hands. He tossed the ball of iron to Tazer who caught it with surprise. Jae, bending down in front of Ash, ran his hand down her cheek. "You wouldn't like it if I used your fear to punish you… Would you?" [3] Ash shuddered.
"What the hell are you doing, Jae?" Tazer said, yanking him away from the historian. "Don't scare her." Jae just gave a smile. [4]
"It's not nice to play a joke on someone by using their fear," Jae said, looking directly at Ash. Ash shivered slightly from the look in Jae's eyes. [5] "It's not nice at all, ne?"
"Jae!" Tazer snapped harshly. "Watch it." Jae merely shrugged and looked at the fainted Hikari in Ash's arms.
"BOAT!" Recca suddenly shouted, startling the other three. He looked at them, who gave bewildered looks back. "Are you guys okay now? Don't get all serious on me or evil-like. We're a crew!"
"Recca-san, you can't call a group of five who hardly know each other a crew," Jae said.
"There's no rule about that," Recca said.
"So what if there isn't a rule about it," Jae said. Recca punched Jae across the cheek, sending him flying a few feet. No one made any comment or movement from the action.
"Does that clear your head a little, Jae?" Recca asked to the still lying form of Jae.
"You put a lot of force behind that hit, Recca-san," Jae said, sitting up. Recca shrugged, trying to look innocent. A trickle of blood ran down the side of Jae's mouth. "But thanks. I was a bit out of hand."
"More like insane," Tazer retorted. Jae gave a little laugh, wiping away the blood off with his index finger. Jae licked over the wound, sealing off the blood.
"Ash-san, can you come over here," Jae asked, waving for her to come. Ash looked at Tazer warily. He sighed.
"Am I officially the caretaker?" Tazer wondered. "Go, Ash. Jae won't do any harm." Ash looked down at Hikari. "Ah… Recca."
"Yeah?" he asked.
"Can you cover for Ash?" Tazer asked.
"No problem!" Recca said, holding Hikari. Ash hesitantly walked towards Jae, who grabbed her hand.
"Don't worry," Jae said, smearing his blood at the base of her index finger.
"Oh," Ash said, surprised. "A ring."
"My apologies for acting that way," Jae said, smiling up at her.
"Is everyone on good terms now?" Recca asked.
"We sure are," Jae said, pulling Ash down and kissing her on the cheek. Ash's face reddened as Jae pulled away.
"Wha? Wha?! WHA?!?!" Ash exclaimed. Tazer sighed, seeing Ash dash behind Hikari and Recca.
"Oh boy," Tazer muttered, shaking his head. [6] Tazer walked over, placing a hand on Jae's head.
"Tazer-san," Jae said, looking up at him.
"Jae," Tazer said.
"Yes?" Jae asked.
"Please don't kiss people on the cheek anymore," Tazer said, exasperated. Jae blinked.
"Why? It was common in Alde Nare," Jae said.
"That's only in Alde Nare," Tazer said. "Other islands take kissing as a sign of love." Jae made eye contact with a flushed Ash, making her duck behind Recca and Hikari again.
"So she thinks I love her?" Jae asked. Tazer nodded. "Ash-san. Don't worry. I don't love you!"
"I know he says it without ill intention, but…" Tazer thought, shaking his head. Recca blinked when he noticed something.
"HEY! There's a group of people over there!" Recca said, pointing. "Let's go check it out!" He hoisted the unconscious Hikari onto his back and ran towards the big group of people. Ash flushed at the sight of Jae and chased after him.
"… Maybe I should have said I don't love her yet," Jae said, thinking. "I might fall for her if I spend time with her." Tazer rolled his eyes and helped Jae up.
"Let's follow," Tazer said, walking towards the group. Jae followed after him.
"Do you think I'll fall in love with Ash-san?" Jae asked.
"How the hell should I know?" Tazer said. "I'm not a love guru."
"But you had many girls fall over you," Jae said.
"Doesn't mean I fell for them," Tazer retorted.
"How did you start hating girls anyway?" Jae asked.
"Because they only care about looks," Tazer said.
"But not all girls are like that," Jae said. "Hikari-san and Ash-san don't seem to be like that. Something must have happened to make you think that way." Tazer was internally thankful for Recca when he called them over… like he found a rare diamond. They walked over, confused.
"What is it?" Tazer asked.
"We're going to get a new crewmember!" Recca said, excitedly.
"Where's Hikari-san?" Jae asked, not seeing the light-blue haired unconscious female on Recca's back.
"Huh? Oh. I gave her back to Ash," Recca quickly said. "Now come see our soon-to-be nakama!" Recca pushed some people aside, earning glares, and pulled the two by their wrist into the crowd.
"This is our new member?" Tazer asked, staring at an unconscious(?) reddish-blonde male on the ground. "Recca, did I ever tell you not to just invite random people into our crew?" Recca thought for a moment.
"I don't think so," Recca said after some time.
"I see," Tazer said, clearing his throat. "Then… DON'T FREAKING INVITE RANDOM PEOPLE INTO OUR CREW!!!!!! ESPECIALLY UNCONSCIOUS PEOPLE!!!" Recca jutted out his mouth, scowling.
"But he looks cool!" Recca argued. A glare from Tazer silenced him. Jae looked sideways at an evading Ash. Jae sulked slightly, walking closer to Ash. The historian flinched.
"Huh? What? Coming, Recca!" Ash said, running away to Recca once Jae got too close.
"Ah…" Jae said, sighing. "She's completely avoiding me." Jae couldn't help but feel a slight fury at the treatment he was getting from the historian. "Was what I did so terrible that she must completely avoid me? Well… I'll let her be for now."
"Jae!" Recca called, attracting his attention. "Come!"
"Aa," Jae said, walking towards Recca. He stopped a few feet away. "If you're going to run away from me, Ash-san, then do it properly, okay?" Ash froze and Hikari finally stirred.
"Where?" Hikari groaned.
"HIKARI!" Recca exclaimed. "We got a new crewmember!"
"Really?" Hikari asked. "Where are we?"
"Imori," Recca said.
"Still?" Hikari asked, tapping Ash's shoulder to be let down. She blinked when her friend ignored her and then felt the tense atmosphere between Jae and Ash. "Did something happen?"
"Not really," Jae said. "Why don't you just take a look at our new crewmember, Hikari-san?"
"Oh right… who is it?" Hikari said, letting go the topic for the time being.
"This guy right here!" Recca said, pointing at the male on the ground.
"Hey, is this guy your friend?" someone next to him asked.
"Yes, he is!" Recca exclaimed.
"Get him off the streets then!" he barked. "He's disturbing the peace by laying down here!"
"Yessir!" Recca said, pulling the guy onto his back. The man shook his head, watching the six leave.
"Let's board the train! [7] So that he'll have to accept!" Recca exclaimed, walking. Everyone stared at him.
"What if he's a marine?" Tazer asked, walking up to him.
"He's not!" Recca persisted. "He's a good person!"
"YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW HIM!" Tazer exclaimed.
"I have a good judge of character!" Recca argued.
"How can you have a good sense of character on a guy who was lying down on the floor!" Tazer said, a bit exasperated.
"I JUST DO!" Recca said. "No more talking back! CAPTAIN'S ORDERS!"
"They're so full of life," Hikari said, watching the two argue. Ash and Jae didn't answer. "And… you two are just dead, aren't ya?" "Man… what happened when I was unconscious? … WAIT A MINUTE!" "ASH!!!!" The historian jumped in surprise.
"W-what?" she asked, startled.
"I'm going to get you back for that!" Hikari roared.
"Huh? Oh… you do that," Ash said, looking away. Jae's entire posture radiated irritation.
"I'm going to catch up to them," Jae said, making Ash flinch visibly. Jae spared Ash a glance before running up to the other males.
"Okay, now tell me, what's up with you and Jae," Hikari said, as soon as she saw Jae with the others.
"Nothing," Ash said. Hikari opened her mouth to say something but decided against it, due to Ash's tone.
"You two! Can you guys be any slower?!" Tazer barked on top of the train.
"WE CAN!" Hikari shouted back. "YA WANNA SEE?!?!"
"CUT THE CRAP AND GET OVER HERE!" Tazer shouted back. Hikari grabbed Ash's wrist and ran towards the train. "JUMP! WE'RE HITCHING A RIDE!" Hikari let go of Ash's wrist and unsheathed Espade Ropera and Dirk.
"Get on yourself," Hikari said, before jumping. She stabbed Espade Ropera into the thicker side of the train and used the momentum to flip onto the roof, kicking her legs into the air. She landed on her back roughly, skidding slightly, while stabbing Dirk into the roof of the train, securing her place.
"How mean," Ash muttered. She sped up and created the illusion of a spring. She stomped down hard on it and sprang up to the roof. But she overdid it and flew higher than the roof.
"She's not going to make it," Hikari shouted. Seeing her fall, Jae ripped off the bandages and forced his fingers through the healing wound. He used the dripping blood to create a wider range of ground for Ash. Ash landed, albeit a bit roughly, on the iron-made ground.
"Jae. Why didn't you use the bracelets?" Tazer asked, slightly annoyed.
"Oops," Jae thought. "Sorry, Tazer-san. It was impulse. Yunae-san always told me to use my left hand."
"You always inflicted all your damage to your left hand?" Tazer asked.
"Yes," Jae said.
"Then why are there no scars?" Tazer asked, eyeing the clean pale hand of Jae's. Jae paused.
"That's a secret," Jae said, licking the wound. "Oh and Tazer-san, you never did have to wrap my hand. Blood won't flow out anyway."
"Because you lick it?" Tazer asked.
"No, licking the wound is just a habit of mine," Jae said. "Whatever damage I cause to my hand, only the amount I want will come out."
"A… Axia," Ash said, gaining Jae's attention.
"Talking to me now, Ash-san?" he asked.
"… Thanks," Ash said, shuffling her feet. "Even though you didn't need to do that."
"You're welcome," Jae responded, gathering up the iron into a ball. He placed it within his bag, his balance broken due to the change of weight.
"Careful there," Tazer said, placing his hand on his shoulder to help. A groan gained their attention.
"Where am I?" the reddish-blonde haired boy asked, rubbing his head.
"You're on top of a train," Recca answered. "You're part of my nakama."
"… Pirate?" he asked.
"Yeah!" Recca said, happily. The reddish-blonde haired boy blinked before letting out a grin.
"Sweet!" he said. "I'm in a pirate crew!"
"… You're weird!" Hikari exclaimed, pointing at him.
"As much I hate agreeing with you, it's true," Tazer said. "Who the hell gets happy at joining a pirate crew unknowingly."
"Apparently me," the male said, grinning.
"What's your name?" Recca asked, happy.
"I'm Alec Drake. I'm 20 years old," he answered. "I don't really have a position. I'm good at spinning though." [8]
"Spinning?" Recca asked, his brow furrowed. "That's not a good talent." [8]
"Spinning also means twisting the truth," Hikari said, informing her captain. "I should know. I'm an expert on spinning as well."
"Ohh… welcome to my crew!" Recca greeted. "I'm the captain of this crew, Recca Torazane's the name!" Recca stood up and placed his hand on Tazer's shoulder. "This is my first mate/marksman, Tazer." Tazer gave a curt nod to which Alec responded back with a grin. "This is my navigator, Jae. Isn't he pretty? And this is…" Alec still had a pleasant look on his face, his mind not registering the face that Jae was a male. Everyone watched, with interest, Alec's happy face slowly turn into an extremely shocked one.
"MALE?!?!?!?!" he exclaimed, pointing at Jae.
"Yes," Jae said. "I am male." Jae turned red when Alec started patting his chest.
"There really is nothing there," Alec said, groping Jae's chest [9].
"Don't touch Jae," Tazer said, pulling Alec away from a stunned Jae before he got any more intimate. "Can't you see that he's uncomfortable?" Alec looked at Hikari and Ash.
"Are these male too, then?" Alec asked, with great sorrow.
"We're female," Hikari stated, everyone taking amusement in Alec's changing facial expressions.
"He's so amusing!" Recca said, laughing. "I like my new crewmate! Anyways! The light-blue haired one is Hikari, our cook, and the brown-haired one with orange tips on the edge is Ash, our historian."
"Oh… nice to meet you all!" Alec greeted.
"Where are we headed?" Recca asked Jae.
"This train is headed towards Elgan Island," Jae stated.
"How do you know that?" Hikari asked.
"I heard the conductor shout it," Jae said. "All three of us should have heard. But I'm assuming Recca-san forgot." Recca gave a laugh.
"My bad!" he said, scratching the back of his head. "When do you think we'll arrive?"
"I'm assuming fifteen minutes," Jae answered, taking out a folder from his bag. He flipped to the map of Symphonia. "The rate of this train is pretty fast and judging from the map, the distance is not that far."
"So what are we going to do for fifteen minutes?" Recca asked. Everyone stared at each other, blankly.
-FIFTEEN MINUTES LATER-
Everyone jumped in surprise when the train whistle blew loudly. "Oh… we're here," Jae said. "Guess we'll have to continue this game later."
"Aww~ This game was fun though!" Recca whined.
"It is, isn't it?" Hikari said, grinning. She gathered up the cards and placed them within her pocket. "This game sure brings back memories. I used to play this with my foster dad." Ash placed her hand on the cook's shoulder, giving her a smile. Hikari blinked and smiled back, knowing her friend was comforting her. "Thanks, Ash."
"We have to make this game a tradition! We'll sit around and play this game every time we get a new crewmember!" Recca said, excitedly.
"That's going to be wild," Alec said. "It was pretty wild with the six of us already."
"Yeah," Tazer said, holding up his hand. "My hand's reddening."
"Yeah, all of ours are," Hikari said, holding out her hand.
"Let's depart," Jae said. "Does everyone have their things?" Everyone nodded. Hikari slammed her hat on Tazer's head.
"!!!!!!!!" he glared at the cook. Hikari pointed at his head. Still glaring at the cook, he touched his head and removed the cap. "?"
"Your face will give us trouble later on," Hikari said, walking towards the edge of the train. "I'm giving you that so we can be spared the trouble." Tazer snorted and put the cap back on. With that, they jumped off from the roof of the train, surprising the passengers who were exiting the train. Recca narrowed his eyes slightly while staring at a dark-blue haired boy.
"What's wrong, Recca?" Hikari asked, seeing Recca's expression.
"I'm hungry," Recca said, his stomach growling.
"Always a black hole," Tazer muttered. "Where's the nearest restaurant, Jae?"
"Depends," Jae said. "Where does our captain want to eat?"
"Anywhere's fine~" he chirped happily.
"Then we'll go to that one, okay?" Jae asked, pointing to the nearest restaurant from earlier. Recca nodded happily and they went in.
[1]: You can't see anything if someone's waving their arms in a frantic windmill motion. If you can, I applaud you and you must have good eyesight and can freeze frame within your mind… I guess.
[2]: They were too surprised by Hikari's vulnerability to notice the fear.
[3]: I can't remember… do you know her fear, Jae? (Jae: Yes. Fear of men. Hikari-san told us back at Symphonia.) Ohhh… (Jae: How can you forget what you wrote?) I JUST CAN!
[4]: Ugh. I was watching Ga-Rei Zero and my mood went a bit evil?
[5]: It's a child-like evil look. You know how children burns ants with magnifying glass and have fun with it? It's like that. An innocent evil… if that makes sense to you. Umm… think Russia from Axis Powers Hetalia.
[6]: Hmm... Jae's angry with me. First losing his temper and kissing Ash on the cheek. Sorry, Jae~ -skips away-
[7]: Wasn't Recca going to buy a boat? Guess he forgot in the midst of his excitement of getting a new nakama.
[8]: Alec meant spinning words (twisting the truth) and Recca thought of spinning literally.
[9]: YO! MY FRIEND FROM REAL LIFE! IF YOU'RE READING THIS, did ya like the reference? Hehehe. Man, I love Korea~ If you know Hetalia, then you'll get it.
Me: … DARN! I can't remember the time anymore!!!! I think it's still Christmas in their time. FORGET THAT! I'm having a time skip! The next chapter's going to be NEW YEARS' DAY! I was going to make it Valentine's but Nah. I can't skip out on New Year's. I apologize in advance for the horrible timing.
